Sweden’s Armand Duplantis broke new ground once again as he set a world record of 6.30 metres to successfully defend his world pole vault title in Tokyo on Monday, Afrosport reports.
The 25-year-old had already secured gold with a first-time clearance at 6.15m before raising the bar a further 15 centimetres at the Japan National Stadium.
On his third attempt, Duplantis sailed over the height to register his 14th world record as he continues to dominate the discipline, becoming the first athlete ever to breach the barrier.
The Swede has now won all eight global gold medals available – indoors and outdoors – since his breakthrough in 2021.
The sky is never the limit 💫@mondohoss600 proves again that he is from another planet, clearing 6.30m to break his own world record and claim his third consecutive world title 🏆🏆🏆#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/hTwWqWnskL
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) September 15, 2025
What followed was a celebration worthy of the occasion. Duplantis sprinted from the mat, circled the track, and then leapt into the stands to embrace his partner and parents, as the crowd inside the stadium erupted in delight.
“It’s better than I could have imagined. To give you guys this world record is amazing. I’m just so happy,” said Duplantis, who has already rewritten the record books four times in 2025 alone – more than in any other single year of his career.
With World Athletics offering $100,000 for each world record alongside the $70,000 gold-medal prize, Duplantis was no shortage of incentive.
Meanwhile, Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis claimed silver with a best of 6.00m, while Australia’s Kurtis Marschall earned bronze thanks to a personal best of 5.95m, edging out American Sam Kendricks on countback.
